(CNN)It's been 5 years, 4 months and 27 days for Tony Finau to consciousness the euphoria of lasting successful the winner's circle.
But connected Monday afternoon, Finau ended his agelong hold for his 2nd PGA Tour win, beating Cameron Smith successful a playoff to triumph the Northern Trust astatine the Liberty National Golf Club.
In those 5 years without a win, Finau carded 8 runner-up finishes and 39 top-10 finishes. No wonderment helium looked a relieved fig aft sinking the winning putt to clinch his archetypal triumph since the 2016 Puerto Rico Opem.
"I person an utmost content successful myself, and I person to," the 31-year-old Finau told reporters.
"This crippled is hard arsenic it is. These guys are truthful bully arsenic it is. If you can't judge you tin bushed them, man, it's conscionable an uphill battle, and I conscionable proceed to believe."
Finau couldn't person ended his barren tally connected a bigger stage, winning the archetypal signifier of the FedExCup Playoffs, which volition crown the PGA Tour's play champion.
After the last circular of the Northern Trust was delayed until Monday due to the fact that of Tropical Storm Henri which made landfall connected the northeast of the US implicit the weekend, Finau changeable an fantabulous final-round 65 to decorativeness connected 20-under par for the tourney with Australian Smith, forcing the 2 into a playoff.
But connected the archetypal hole, Finau snatched his momentous victory, and 1 which shoots him to the apical of the FedExCup rankings with 2 tournaments to play -- this week's BMW Championship and the Tour Championship successful Atlanta successful September.
The Northern Trust is the PGA Tour's archetypal FedEx Cup playoff event.
The FedEx Cup sees subordinate accrue ranking points passim the play with the apical 125 taking portion successful the archetypal playoff.
The tract is whittled down with a last 30 players competing astatine the Tour Championship, wherever the FedExCup Champion wins $15 million.
"I judge successful myself," added Finau. "I judge successful my team. I haven't had the wins to possibly person that benignant of assurance and belief, but you conscionable person to.
"I person to judge I tin spell retired determination and bushed J.T. today, and I tin bushed Jon Rahm," Finau continued, referring to Justin Thomas and golf's satellite No. 1. "I person to judge that, and I did, and I proceed to bash that, and that's the lone crushed wherefore I'm sitting present contiguous arsenic the champion."
A pugnacious fewer days
Patrick Reed's instrumentality to Liberty National, wherever helium won the Northern Trust successful 2019, did not spell to plan.
The American, who came into the tourney ranked 22nd successful the FedExCup standings, was forced to propulsion retired with an ankle injury.
And during the last round, Reed issued a connection saying that he's been location successful Houston battling double-pneumonia.
"The bully quality is, my ankle is okay," helium wrote. "The atrocious quality is I've been successful the infirmary with bilateral pneumonia. I'm connected the roadworthy to recovery, erstwhile I'm cleared from the doctors -- I look guardant to returning. I privation you each the champion and I can't hold to get backmost retired there!
"Thank you truthful overmuch for your support," helium continued, "it means a batch to me. Also, a peculiar convey you to the doctors, nurses, and unit astatine The Methodist Hospital successful the Texas Medical Center."
Reed withdrew from this week's BMW Championship, the 2nd lawsuit of the FedExCup Playoffs, connected Monday too.
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